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“I’m due to go back to school in a week. I don’t know how I’d make time.”
He’d found a permanent nanny for Maggie. Liam and Hadley had agreed that being together would not work if she was still his employee. But he was realizing that she would no longer be an everyday fixture in his life, and that was a situation he needed to fix.
“I don’t mind sharing you with the horses,” he said, keeping his voice casual. He’d never had to work so hard to keep from spooking a woman.
“Oh, you don’t?” She gave him a wry smile. “What if I don’t have enough time for either of you?”
Liam’s grip on the reins tightened and Buzzard began trotting in place. If he thought she was flirting, he’d have shot back a provocative retort, but Liam had gotten to know Hadley well enough in the last few weeks to know she had serious concerns.
“Move in with me.”
The offer was sudden, but he didn’t surprise himself when he made it.
“You already have a full-time nanny moving in.”
“Not as a nanny.”
Her eyes widened. “Then as what?”
“The woman I’m crazy about.” He’d never been in love and had no idea if that’s what he felt for Hadley. But he’d been doing a lot of soul-searching these last few days.
“You’re crazy about me?” The doubt in her voice wasn’t unexpected.
He’d known she wouldn’t accept his declaration without some vigorous convincing. Hadley wasn’t one to forgive herself easily for past mistakes. She’d fallen for her first employer, only to have her heart torn up when the jerk got back together with his ex-wife. That wasn’t a judgment error she would make a second time. And she was already skeptical of Liam’s past romantic history.
“If we weren’t on these damned horses I’d demonstrate just how crazy.”
Liam ground his teeth at her surprise. What kept her from accepting how strong his feelings had become? The mildest of her saucy smiles provoked a befuddling rush of lust. He pondered what her opinion would be on a dozen decisions before lunch. Waking up alone in his big bed had become the most painful part of his day.
“This is happening too fast.”
“I’m not going to bail on you.”
“I know.”
“You don’t sound convinced.” He was determined to change her mind. “What can I say to reassure you?”
“You don’t need to say anything.”
After regarding her for a long moment, he shook his head. “I’ve dated a lot of women.”
“This is your way of convincing me to take a chance on you?”
He ignored her interruption. “Enough to recognize that how I feel about you is completely foreign to me.” He saw he’d hit the wrong note with the word foreign. “And terrific. Scary. Fascinating. I’ve never been so twisted up by a woman before.”
“And somehow you think this is a good thing?”
“You make me better. I feel more alive when I’m with you. Like anything is possible.”
She blinked several times. “I think that’s the most amazing thing anyone has ever said to me.”
“I don’t believe that. I do, however, believe that it might be one of the first times you’ve let yourself hear and trust one of my compliments.” He was making progress if she’d stopped perceiving everything he said as a ploy.
“You might be right.”
They’d drawn within sight of the ranch buildings, and Liam regretted how fast the ride had gone. He hadn’t received an answer from Hadley, and the time to pursue the matter was fast coming to an end.
“I hope that means you’re beginning to believe me when I tell you how important you’ve become to me.”
“It’s starting to sink in.” She watched him from beneath her eyelashes. “But are you ready to have me move in?”
“Absolutely.” His conviction rang in his answer. “But it’s not the only thing I want.”
This was something else he’d thought long and hard about. It wasn’t just his feelings for Hadley that were driving him, but also his need to give Maggie a loving home and create for her the sort of stable family denied him and Kyle.
“No?”
“What I really want is for us to get married.”
Eleven
While Hadley wondered if she’d heard him correctly, Liam pulled a ring box out of his coat pocket and extended it her way. She stared at it, her heart thundering in her ears. It wasn’t the most romantic of proposals, but she had to bite her lower lip to keep from blurting out her acceptance. It took half a minute for her to think rationally.
